Brene Brown’s Engaged Feedback Checklist

I haven’t really gotten into Brene Brown’s stuff yet. I haven’t read any of her books or even watched her Netflix special. However, I just came across Brene Brown’s Engaged Feedback Checklist and wanted to share it.

My work at Montessori For All involves a lot of deep, complex interpersonal work. The stakes are always so high. We are dealing with children, families, and their futures. We are dealing with the complexity of deeply emotional work. All of us bring our past trauma, our past patterns, our preferences. And we are always working with each other on a really urgent and tight timeline because there’s always so much that needs to get done.

The past six years of being in start-up have been incredibly difficult. I had a one year-old and a three year-old when I started. A friend of mine launched a public Montessori school in Colorado around the same time. She just now gave birth to her baby and can step back from her work now that the school is stable.

I pay attention to the things about other people’s lives that make me envious. I try not to wallow in envy. Instead, I analyze it and ask, “What about their life makes me jealous? Are there ways I can bring that into my life?”

When my friend said she was pregnant and was going to step back from her school, I was jealous. I was jealous that I had to suffer through the difficulty of new parenthood and the difficulty of giving birth to a school and a national non-profit organization—all at the same time.

That time period was so difficult for our family. There are definitely bright spots and I’m happy about the kind of life we have built for our boys. But it was hard. I’ve learned over the years that when I’m feeling stressed, I’m particularly difficult to collaborate with. I get into a very self-protective place. Working with a leadership coach for a couple years has helped me understand how to

Brene Brown’s Engaged Feedback Checklist seems like a helpful tool for helping all of us get into place that supports healthy and helpful interactions with each other!